Inventory of Tetrapod Vertebrates of Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Abstract

We detected 153 species of tetrapod vertebrates in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area using 9 sampling methods over a 3-month period in the summer of 2003. Most of these were birds (84), followed by reptiles (37), mammals (23), and amphibians (9). We estimate that we detected over 80% of all tetrapod vertebrates present during summer. Further sampling effort for snakes, non-breeding birds, and spring-active amphibians would be most likely to detect more species. We did not detect several species of particular interest including Texas horned lizard and spotted skunk. We recommend monitoring the success of fire management and reducing the impacts of feral cats in the recreation area.